Nasr ibn Abdallah, known as Kaydar (; '' nisbah'' given variously as al-Safadi الصفدي or al-Sughdi الصغدي) was a governor of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

for the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

, serving there from 832 until his death in 834.

Career

Kaydar appears to have been of Sogdian descent, and he was considered a client of the Commander of the Faithful (''mawla amir al-mu'minin''). He was appointed to the governorship of Egypt by the caliph

al-Ma'mun Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by t ...

(r. 813–833) following the latter's visit to the province in February 832. The caliph also sent a "foreigner" (''

ajam (, ) is an Arabic word for a non-Arab, especially a Persian. It was historically used as a pejorative—figuratively ascribing muteness to those whose native language is not Arabic—during and after the Muslim conquest of Iran. Since the ea ...

'') named Ibn Bistam to serve as chief of security ('' shurtah''), but Kaydar dismissed him over charges of bribery and ordered him to be whipped in the mosque, after which he appointed his own son Muzaffar to lead the ''shurtah'' instead. During Kaydar's governorship, al-Ma'mun ordered the beginning of the '' mihnah'' or inquisition, to ensure compliance with his belief that the Qur'an had been created. In 833 Kaydar received a letter from al-Ma'mun's brother and successor Abu Ishaq, announcing the formation of the ''mihnah'' and instructing him to implement it in Egypt. He accordingly questioned the ''

qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

'' Harun ibn Abdallah al-Zuhri, along with other officials and legal experts, and received their affirmation of the createdness of the Qur'an. A few months after the beginning of the ''mihnah'', al-Ma'mun died in August 833 and was succeeded by Abu Ishaq, who took the regnal name al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842). The new caliph wrote to Kaydar, ordering him to drop the names of the provincial Arabs from the army registers ('' diwan'') and stop paying their salaries. This act met stiff resistance, however, and soon a certain Yahya ibn al-Wazir al-Jarawi revolted and drew five hundred men to his cause. Kaydar responded by preparing to engage the rebels, but he died in 834, and the governorship was taken over by his son Muzaffar.; ;

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaydar Nasr ibn Abdallah 834 deaths 9th-century Iranian people Sogdian people 9th-century Abbasid governors of Egypt